The rise of new leadership requirements call for organizations to re-think how they develop and coach their leaders and leadership teams. While the fundamental requirements around people leadership and management remain unchanged, new leadership practices are emerging required to lead digital workforce, mold and lead highly diverse and geographically dispersed teams of leaders, and an ability to influence in the context of an ever-changing network of entities and partnerships that have replaced traditional organizational hierarchies.

To succeed in this new environment characterized by volatility, uncertainty, and constant change, leaders need to be agile, fast-to-respond, and able to continuously adapt. In order to develop such leaders, organizations must ensure that their leadership development and executive coaching programs are grounded in the business and always reflect the changing requirements of their organizational ecosystem. Not only is such an approach more meaningful and encompassing of the key drivers for leadership success, it also factors in the evolving realities of the business, including any internal or external changes and disruptions.

From this perspective, older approaches to leadership development have a limited impact because they are based on the assumption of “stability” across the business ecosystem. This often results in a “fix it” approach to leadership and organizational development, where executive coaches are asked to work with business leaders to “address” various “issues” that interfere with their leaders’ effectiveness and performance vis-à-vis set “norms”. By the time the coaching engagement is completed, the organization requirements have changed and some new “issues” need to be tackled to improve performance and create “alignment” between a leader and his / her team and the broader organization.

A new approach is more systemic, where leaders are coached and developed within their ecosystem. It is grounded in the principles of organizational change and reflects a systemic approach to leadership development. Organizational consultants and coaches who operate on such a level are able to “anticipate” emerging leadership and organizational needs and guide the leaders towards solutions. Furthermore, the degree to which an organization is ready to adopt these new leadership practices may have an impact effect on team performance, organizational culture health, and, eventually, the financial performance of the business.

> Is your organization ready to raise the bar on leadership  development and executive coaching?

> What new approaches / capabilities will this require?

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